Bump! I've been a little busy recently but server is still going. I'd be interested in possibly adding some extra maps to the server maplist (any good finished or public beta maps).
Unfortunately I've not seen any high-rated maps on the Workshop for a few weeks now. I guess its because school has returned for some, but any other reason? The last map I added was Republic.
Is the downvoting of certain maps still going on?
EDIT: Added de_fasthold

Just fixed some crash issue which was affecting all CSGO servers since an update 3 days ago, so sorry if anyone was on the server and it crashed
Would be nice to see more people on this week, I've added de_republic to the server and it can be nominated.

Well I've found getting the fixed mapcycle (where it logically follows the nextmap) tricky to setup on CSGO, and unfortunately it failed. Its more complicated with using Workshop maps.
But a workaround is we can still ensure the mapcycle only selects those 16 maps...There will be at the vote towards the end of the map (2 rounds before) and you can select from 5 maps from the 16 on the rotation. It will automatically exclude the last 10 played maps - so it will ensure the maps will get cycled around. This was the only way I could get this working.
And you still have the option of typing "nominate" to choose something off the cycle and see if others feel the same.
.So now I can say (with 99% confidence) the server is open to business and running the selection of maps which were chosen.

Voting is over. I've decided to go for the maps giving 5 or more ratings. Altogether 16 maps chosen, would have been less but a lot got tied with 5 votes.
Here are the vote results: http://goo.gl/9IRYGT
Quite surprised with some of the results - didn't expect Castle to get 0 votes!
So the mapcycle will be:
de_crown
de_cistern_b1
de_shipped
de_forlorn
cs_workout
de_lite
de_thrill
de_resort
de_fire
cs_agency
de_austria
de_zoo
de_ali
de_wtfl
cs_concert
de_season
The starting map is Crown, and I have specifically set it in this order. So players will know what the nextmap is, and to sandwich the hostage maps in convenient locations.
Say if you want to play something different not on the cycle (e.g. Vegas). Type nominate, select the Vegas map and type rtv. And a majority of others would have to type rtv or nominate a different map if they want something different. Else, the map simply changes to the next in the cycle.
P.S. PLEASE let me know if the map doesnt change to the map next on the cycle. I'm aware it doesnt show the correct map as the nextmap, but it should still change to the correct one.

I've created now one of the worlds longest polls:
http://www.poll-maker.com/poll774677x734543E2-31
Select at your hearts content, We will give it about a week. The top 10-15 maps will be chosen for a regular map cycle.

I like the idea of a smaller rotation and a poll for picking the top select maps.
But I think the poll should be open for all maps and then get to choose the top 10-15
Once that's chosen, there can be a fixed map cycle of those maps. So people will know what maps are played.
If anyone wants to change to a map not on that cycle but still in the collection, they can type nominate and select that map. Obviously it would need the majority of the server to agree to a change, but it's not going to happen frequently if the base maps are solid. It's good to have this option because there are lots of older Workshop maps which didn't get much attention but made pretty well and could offer fun game play.
And it could also be changed up later on. Like replacing some maps with some others in a months time. Almost like mini operations
We have to make sure the maps are not forgotten about - that was the point of this server

So people are joining the server every day but not enough or long enough to sustain a good regular base.
I'd be interested in hearing possible ideas or events to make more people stay and get a bigger group on.

Well we have some custom maps CSS and even Condition Zero. But some of them are just simple ports.
I wonder if anyone fancies making (for example) de_losttemple, de_vegas or de_nightfever from scratch, rather than 1:1 ports .
By the way, I've added de_momentum and de_bottlestreet to the collection today.

From a players point of view, I think strong lighting is needed. In general, players do not like dark regular maps, especially where you need to turn on flashlight or night vision.
Lain's examples are pretty good.